Maternal and Neonatal Health Risks of Adolescent Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors

  • Md Shahedul Islam a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:18:"Research Associate";} https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9931-2965
  • Akibul Islam Chowdhury Department of Nutrition and Food Engineering, Daffodil International University, Savar, Dhaka-1216, BANGLADESH.
  • Kazi Turjaun Akhter Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, BANGLADESH.
  • Oumma Halima Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, BANGLADESH.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22452/mjs.vol45no3.10

Keywords:

Adolescence, Adolescent pregnancy, Maternal health, Neonatal health, Pre-eclampsia, Anaemia

Abstract

Adolescent pregnancy and its negative effects on maternal and neonatal health are a global public health concern. This systematic review aimed to examine the effects of adolescent pregnancy on maternal and neonatal health. Researchers scoured three electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar) for relevant articles between January 2015 and October 2021. We applied an individual random effects model to estimate the pooled outcomes and observe the impacts of adolescent pregnancy on maternal and neonatal health. After examining the eligibility criteria, we assessed 12 articles for qualitative evaluation and then selected eight for quantitative analysis. The pooled result of the study demonstrated that the prevalence of pre-eclampsia and anaemia was higher, and the prevalence of gestational diabetes, placental disruption, cesarean delivery, and premature rupture of the fetal membrane was lower among adolescent mothers compared with adult mothers. Nevertheless, no significant (P < 0.05) differences existed across the groups. Adolescents had a significantly (P > 0.05) higher prevalence of having a premature baby, whereas there is no significant (P < 0.05) difference observed in the prevalence of low birth weight and postpartum haemorrhage. Hence, this study suggests that adolescent pregnancy might have a potential effect on maternal and neonatal health.

References

Althabe, F., Moore, J. L., Gibbons, L., Berrueta, M., Goudar, S. S., Chomba, E., Derman, R. J., Patel, A., Saleem, S., & Pasha, O. (2015). Adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancies: The Global Network’s Maternal Newborn Health Registry study. Reproductive health, 12(S2), S8.

Aromataris, E., & Munn, Z. (2021). JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI, 2020. In.

Aung, S. H. (2017). A reterospective study of maternal and fetal outcome of adolescent pregnancy in Kawthaung province, Myanmar. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 16(4), 535-540.

Baş, E. K., Bülbül, A., Uslu, S., Baş, V., Elitok, G. K., & Zubarioğlu, U. (2020). Maternal characteristics and obstetric and neonatal outcomes of singleton pregnancies among adolescents. Medical science monitor: international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 26, e919922-919921.

Basbug, A., & Sonmez, C. I. (2018). Iron deficiency anemia in adolescent pregnancy: investigation of its effects and the related factors. Family Practice and Palliative Care, 3(3), 108-112.

Çift, T., Korkmazer, E., Temur, M., Bulut, B., Korkmaz, B., Ozdenoğlu, O., Akaltun, C., & Üstünyurt, E. (2017). Adolescent pregnancies: complications, birth outcomes and the possible solutions. Ginekologia polska, 88(7), 393-397.

Darroch, J. E., Woog, V., Bankole, A., & Ashford, L. S. (2016). Adding it up: costs and benefits of meeting the contraceptive needs of adolescents.

Ergen, E. B., Yayla, C. A., Sanverdi, I., Ozkaya, E., Kilicci, C., & Kocakusak, C. K. (2017). Maternal-fetal outcome associated with adolescent pregnancy in a tertiary referral center: a cross-sectional study. Ginekologia polska, 88(12), 674-678.

Fall, C. H., Sachdev, H. S., Osmond, C., Restrepo-Mendez, M. C., Victora, C., Martorell, R., Stein, A. D., Sinha, S., Tandon, N., & Adair, L. (2015). Association between maternal age at childbirth and child and adult outcomes in the offspring: a prospective study in five low-income and middle-income countries (COHORTS collaboration). The Lancet Global Health, 3(7), e366-e377.

Ganchimeg, T., Ota, E., Morisaki, N., Laopaiboon, M., Lumbiganon, P., Zhang, J., Yamdamsuren, B., Temmerman, M., Say, L., & Tunçalp, Ö. (2014). Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a W orld H ealth O rganization multicountry study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 121, 40-48.

Ganchimeg, T., Ota, E., Morisaki, N., Laopaiboon, M., Lumbiganon, P., Zhang, J., Yamdamsuren, B., Temmerman, M., Say, L., & Tunçalp, Ö. (2014). WHO Multicountry Survey on Maternal Newborn Health Research Network. Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a World Health Organization multicountry study. BJOG, 121(Suppl 1), 40-48.

Goli, S., Rammohan, A., & Singh, D. (2015). The effect of early marriages and early childbearing on women’s nutritional status in India. Maternal and child health journal, 19(8), 1864-1880.

Grønvik, T., & Fossgard Sandøy, I. (2018). Complications associated with adolescent childbearing in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 13(9), e0204327.

Karaçam, Z., Çakaloz, D. K., & Demir, R. (2021a). The impact of adolescent pregnancy on maternal and infant health in Turkey: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction, 50(4), 102093.

Karaçam, Z., Çakaloz, D. K., & Demir, R. (2021b). The impact of adolescent pregnancy on maternal and infant health in Turkey: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of gynecology obstetrics and human reproduction, 102093.

Karai, A., Gyurkovits, Z., Nyári, T. A., Sári, T., Németh, G., & Orvos, H. (2019). Adverse perinatal outcome in teenage pregnancies: an analysis of a 5-year period in Southeastern Hungary. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 32(14), 2376-2379.

Karataşlı, V., Kanmaz, A. G., İnan, A. H., Budak, A., & Beyan, E. (2019). Maternal and neonatal outcomes of adolescent pregnancy. Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction, 48(5), 347-350.

Kawakita, T., Wilson, K., Grantz, K. L., Landy, H. J., Huang, C.-C., & Gomez-Lobo, V. (2016). Adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancy. Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology, 29(2), 130-136.

Khader, Y. S., Batieha, A., Al-Hader, R., & Sa’ad, S. H. (2019). Rate of teenage pregnancy in Jordan and its impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes. International journal of adolescent medicine and health, 31(6).

Korenčan, S., Pinter, B., Grebenc, M., & Verdenik, I. (2017). The outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth in adolescents in Slovenia. Slovenian Journal of Public Health, 56(4), 268.

Lassi, Z. S., Salam, R. A., Das, J. K., Wazny, K., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2015). An unfinished agenda on adolescent health: opportunities for interventions. Seminars in perinatology,

Loaiza, E., & Liang, M. (2013). Adolescent pregnancy: a review of the evidence. Unfpa.

Mahavarkar, S. H., Madhu, C., & Mule, V. (2008). A comparative study of teenage pregnancy. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 28(6), 604-607.

Maki, A. H. (2020). Teenage pregnancy risk factors and complications in Karbala province. kerbala journal of pharmaceutical sciences(17).

Medhi, R., Das, B., Das, A., Ahmed, M., Bawri, S., & Rai, S. (2016). Adverse obstetrical and perinatal outcome in adolescent mothers associated with first birth: a hospital-based case-control study in a tertiary care hospital in North-East India. Adolescent health, medicine and therapeutics, 7, 37.

Medicine, F. W. G. o. G. C. P. i. M. F., Di Renzo, G. C., Fonseca, E., Gratacos, E., Hassan, S., Kurtser, M., Malone, F., Nambiar, S., Nicolaides, K., & Sierra, N. (2019). Good clinical practice advice: Prediction of preterm labor and preterm premature rupture of membranes. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 144(3), 340-346.

Moraes, A. N., Likwa, R. N., & Nzala, S. H. (2018). A retrospective analysis of adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancy: the case of Luapula Province, Zambia. Maternal health, neonatology and perinatology, 4(1), 1-11.

Morris, J. L., & Rushwan, H. (2015). Adolescent sexual and reproductive health: The global challenges. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 131, S40-S42.

Neal, S., Matthews, Z., Frost, M., Fogstad, H., Camacho, A. V., & Laski, L. (2012). Childbearing in adolescents aged 12–15 years in low resource countries: a neglected issue. New estimates from demographic and household surveys in 42 countries. Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 91(9), 1114-1118.

Ogawa, K., Matsushima, S., Urayama, K. Y., Kikuchi, N., Nakamura, N., Tanigaki, S., Sago, H., Satoh, S., Saito, S., & Morisaki, N. (2019). Association between adolescent pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes, a multicenter cross sectional Japanese study. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-8.

Organization, W. H. (2007). Third milestones of a global campaign for violence prevention report, 2007: Scaling up.

Organization, W. H. (2012). Making health services adolescent friendly: developing national quality standards for adolescent friendly health services.

Organization, W. H. (2016). Department of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (MCA): progress report 2014–15.

Organization, W. H. (2017). Adolescent Pregnancy Fact Sheet N 364,(Updated September 2014). In.

Ozdemirci, S., Kasapoglu, T., Cirik, D. A., Yerebasmaz, N., Kayikcioglu, F., & Salgur, F. (2016). Is late adolescence a real risk factor for an adverse outcome of pregnancy? The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 29(20), 3391-3394.

Patton, G. C., Sawyer, S. M., Santelli, J. S., Ross, D. A., Afifi, R., Allen, N. B., Arora, M., Azzopardi, P., Baldwin, W., & Bonell, C. (2016). Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The Lancet, 387(10036), 2423-2478.

Rexhepi, M., Besimi, F., Rufati, N., Alili, A., Bajrami, S., & Ismaili, H. (2019). Hospital-based study of maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancy compared to adult women pregnancy. Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 7(5), 760.

Rupakala, B., Shurthi, A., & Nagarathnamma, R. (2013). A study on teenage pregnancy and its maternal and fetal outcome. International Journal of Science and Research (E-ISSN 2319–7064), 5(5), 2486-2489.

Sekhar, D. L., Murray-Kolb, L. E., Kunselman, A. R., Weisman, C. S., & Paul, I. M. (2016). Differences in risk factors for anemia between adolescent and adult women. Journal of women's health, 25(5), 505-513.

Sharoni, S. K. A., & Konneh, A. S. (2020). COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND ADULT MOTHERS TREATED IN A PUBLIC HOSPITAL, THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA: A RETROSPECTIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY. Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 20(3), 140-146.

Socolov, D.-G., Iorga, M., Carauleanu, A., Ilea, C., Blidaru, I., Boiculese, L., & Socolov, R.-V. (2017). Pregnancy during adolescence and associated risks: an 8-year hospital-based cohort study (2007–2014) in Romania, the country with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe. BioMed research international, 2017.

Suzuki, S. (2019). Clinical significance of pregnancy in adolescence in Japan. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 32(11), 1864-1868.

Svanemyr, J. (2020). Adolescent pregnancy and social norms in Zambia. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 22(6), 615-629.

Wang, C., Wang, X., & Yang, H. (2017). Effect of maternal age on pregnancy outcomes in Beijing. Zhonghua fu chan ke za zhi, 52(8), 514-520.

WHO. (2018). Adolescent Pregnancy http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs364/en/

WHO, U., & Mathers, C. (2016). Global strategy for women's, children's and adolescents' health (2016-2030). Organization, 201, 4-103.

YE, A. S., LIN, Y., BAO, J. J., HE, J., & YANG, X. J. (2021). The characteristics of adolescent pregnancy in Wenzhou from 2015 to 2019. Journal of Preventive Medicine, 438-441.

Youseflu, S., Keshavarz Afshar, M., Mousavi, M., Moradi, Z., Banaei, M., & Bayat, F. (2019). What Are the Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes of Adolescent Pregnancy in Women. Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 9(3).

Zhang, T., Wang, H., Wang, X., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., Tang, Z., & Wang, L. (2020). The adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes of adolescent pregnancy: A cross sectional study in Hebei, China. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 20, 1-10.

Published

30-09-2026

Issue

Vol. 45 No. 3 (2026)

Section

Review Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Malaysian Journal of Science (MJS)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Transfer of Copyrights

  •  In the event of publication of the manuscript entitled [INSERT MANUSCRIPT TITLE AND REF NO.] in the Malaysian Journal of Science, I hereby transfer copyrights of the manuscript title, abstract and contents to the Malaysian Journal of Science and the Faculty of Science, University of Malaya (as the publisher) for the full legal term of copyright and any renewals thereof throughout the world in any format, and any media for communication.

 

Conditions of Publication

  •  I hereby state that this manuscript to be published is an original work, unpublished in any form prior and I have obtained the necessary permission for the reproduction (or am the owner) of any images, illustrations, tables, charts, figures, maps, photographs and other visual materials of whom the copyrights is owned by a third party.
  • This manuscript contains no statements that are contradictory to the relevant local and international laws or that infringes on the rights of others.
  • I agree to indemnify the Malaysian Journal of Science and the Faculty of Science, University of Malaya (as the publisher) in the event of any claims that arise in regards to the above conditions and assume full liability on the published manuscript.

 

Reviewer’s Responsibilities

  • Reviewers must treat the manuscripts received for reviewing process as confidential. It must not be shown or discussed with others without the authorization from the editor of MJS.
  • Reviewers assigned must not have conflicts of interest with respect to the original work, the authors of the article or the research funding.
  • Reviewers should judge or evaluate the manuscripts objective as possible. The feedback from the reviewers should be express clearly with supporting arguments.
  • If the assigned reviewer considers themselves not able to complete the review of the manuscript, they must communicate with the editor, so that the manuscript could be sent to another suitable reviewer.

 

Copyright: Rights of the Author(s)

  • Effective 2007, it will become the policy of the Malaysian Journal of Science (published by the Faculty of Science, University of Malaya) to obtain copyrights of all manuscripts published. This is to facilitate:
  • Protection against copyright infringement of the manuscript through copyright breaches or piracy.
  • Timely handling of reproduction requests from authorized third parties that are addressed directly to the Faculty of Science, University of Malaya.
  • As the author, you may publish the fore-mentioned manuscript, whole or any part thereof, provided acknowledgement regarding copyright notice and reference to first publication in the Malaysian Journal of Science and Faculty of Science, University of Malaya (as the publishers) are given. You may produce copies of your manuscript, whole or any part thereof, for teaching purposes or to be provided, on individual basis, to fellow researchers.
  • You may include the fore-mentioned manuscript, whole or any part thereof, electronically on a secure network at your affiliated institution, provided acknowledgement regarding copyright notice and reference to first publication in the Malaysian Journal of Science and Faculty of Science, University of Malaya (as the publishers) are given.
  • You may include the fore-mentioned manuscript, whole or any part thereof, on the World Wide Web, provided acknowledgement regarding copyright notice and reference to first publication in the Malaysian Journal of Science and Faculty of Science, University of Malaya (as the publishers) are given.
  • In the event that your manuscript, whole or any part thereof, has been requested to be reproduced, for any purpose or in any form approved by the Malaysian Journal of Science and Faculty of Science, University of Malaya (as the publishers), you will be informed. It is requested that any changes to your contact details (especially e-mail addresses) are made known.

 

 Copyright: Role and responsibility of the Author(s)

  • In the event of the manuscript to be published in the Malaysian Journal of Science contains materials copyrighted to others prior, it is the responsibility of current author(s) to obtain written permission from the copyright owner or owners.
  • This written permission should be submitted with the proof-copy of the manuscript to be published in the Malaysian Journal of Science  

Licensing Policy

Malaysian Journal of Science is an open-access journal that follows the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)

CC BY – NC 4.0: Under this licence, the reusers to distribute, remix, alter, and build upon the content in any media or format for non-commercial purposes only, as long as proper acknowledgement is given to the authors of the original work. Please take the time to read the whole licence agreement (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode ).